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5850 to 6950 worth it?
- Thread starter Devrij
- Start date
Usually mid November 2011 or early 2012.
Then again, why get the 28nm one, you may as well wait for the next spin as it will be better than the 28nm or the following one....
Soldato
- Joined
- 6 Feb 2010
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- 14,583
Should be before the end of the year if no delay.
He has a voucher and life is to short to wait 
Get the 6950 and sell the 5850 and be set for the future for liitle cost.
Then he can plop in another and be set for quite some time.
Let him live a little guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Get the 6950 and sell the 5850 and be set for the future for liitle cost.
Then he can plop in another and be set for quite some time.
Let him live a little guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would say go for the upgrade if you play at 1920x1200, because more and more games would eat more than 1GB vram. It is a good idea to upgrade graphics cards every 12 months if you have the time and money to do so, because these are developing fast. However if you would like to get the most from the cash you pay, keep in mind that tick-tock cycles. Each time fabrication moves to a new node (e.g. 55nm -> 40nm when 5870 smashed 285) the performance increase is obvious. You could expect moving from 40nm to 28nm to be a significant improvement (partially because TSMC cancelled 32nm node), given that TSMC is not again delaying like Duke Nuke Forever.
He has a voucher and life is to short to wait
Get the 6950 and sell the 5850 and be set for the future for liitle cost.
Then he can plop in another and be set for quite some time.
Let him live a little guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
+1 this. Strongly agreed. Life is too short.
Given the price gouging of the 5850 and 5870 upon release, there may be a possibility of £320+ for the 6950 replacement, £375+ for the 5870.
£100 is a fantastic price for your 5850 right now considering how little much extra a new one is.
£100 is a fantastic price for your 5850 right now considering how little much extra a new one is.
The 6950 is not twice the performance of the 5850 but it would cost you twice the price to upgrade.
There really is no point going from a 5850 to a 6950 at the moment. Having both cards here at the moment the difference is minimal.
There really is no point going from a 5850 to a 6950 at the moment. Having both cards here at the moment the difference is minimal.
Prices were fine on release (5850's were slightly cheaper than in the US after exchange rate conversion + VAT iirc), they increased due to shortages in supply a week or two after.
I also doubt that anyone will take his 5850 for £100 ish on the MM. They go for far less (£80 or so) and it's wiser to get another one in Crossfire if it's an option. Otherwise, stick to whatever you have and save for the future upgrade in 6 months - you'll save more that way.
BTW, my 5850 does fine at 2560x1440 and some AA applied (2x or 4x depending on the game) in most games. It really is a powerful card however you look at it.
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It's decided. Since I cannot crossfire, I'm saving my voucher until something I'm actually sure I want comes out (makes sense no?) and the rest can go to paying off my overdraft! My card will be worth a good £70 in november hopefully so not a huge loss since I was planning on selling it for £90 on MM.
I really don't know how you can come to that conclusion:
5850 vs AMD 6950>70
Crysis: Warhead - 1920 x 1200
5850:38.8 6950>70:51.5= +12fps
Crysis: Warhead - Minimum Frame Rate - 1920 x 1200
5850:25.8 6950>70:38.4= +12fps
BattleForge - 1920 x 1200
Frames per Second - Higher is Better
5850:50 6950>70:63.7= +13fps
Metro 2033 - 1920 x 1200
5850:28 6950>70:39= +11fps
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - 1920 x 1200
5850:54 6950>70:68.7=+14fps
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat - 1920 x 1200
5850:38.3 6950>70:59.7= +21fps
Source:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/295?vs=292
Soldato
- Joined
- 17 Aug 2003
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you're comparing an overclocked, unlocked 6950 to a stock 5850...at least compare it to a 5870 or an overclocked 5850
Because benchmarks mean squat to me. My system is not the same as the one in those tests and I doubt the o/p's is either.
Yes the 6950 is quicker but not to the point of buying a new card to replace an already quick card. Sat playing AVP max settings @ 1080p I can tell no difference between either card.
Ignoring benchmarks there is not enough of a difference to warrant an upgrade in my opinion.
Why would the o/p want to spend twice the money to gain a minimal increase in performance. He would be better hanging on for the next generation of cards due at the end of the year for hopefully a more noticeable difference.
Yes the 6950 is quicker but not to the point of buying a new card to replace an already quick card. Sat playing AVP max settings @ 1080p I can tell no difference between either card.
Ignoring benchmarks there is not enough of a difference to warrant an upgrade in my opinion.
Why would the o/p want to spend twice the money to gain a minimal increase in performance. He would be better hanging on for the next generation of cards due at the end of the year for hopefully a more noticeable difference.
Soldato
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- 17 Aug 2003
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- Woburn Sand Dunes
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Op is '5850 to 6950 worth it?'. He wasn't upgrading from a 5870, the 5870 doesn't come into the equation. An overclocked 5850 to 5870 speeds, still does not equal 5870 performance due to having less shaders.
I was pointing out the performance difference to moogleys opinion that there's not much in it in regards to a 5850 v 6950>70, he hasn't mentioned anything about comparing an overclocked 5850 v 6950>70
In your comparison, you are not taking into account that the unlocked 6950>70 essentially becomes a 6970(albeit with 2 six pin power cables over 8+6), which can then be overclocked too, some in excess of a 1GHz overclock.
Soldato
- Joined
- 17 Aug 2003
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- 20,167
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I begg to differ. you're talking about overclocking a 6950 and then comparing to a stock 5850. do it right and compare them both overclocked.
yeah and my 5850 does 900mhz at stock voltage. and thats not an especially good card either. moot point anyway if you arent prepared to compare apples and apples.
not in this thread he hasnt
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=18872226
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You don't know much about 5850's performance then. They overclock slightly better than 5870's and clock for clock are only around 3-6% behind the 5870's therefore making them perform pretty much on the same level.
You only need around 880-900MHz clock on the 5850 to achieve 5870's performance, it's easy enough to get above 1GHz on core though which makes the overclocking potential even higher than 6950's, counting from the 5870's point of performance. That is why the comparison presented is right on the subject.
But that's a bull**** comparison, it's either 6950 vs 5850 or 6970 vs 6950, the reasoning is plain and simple.
He is taking into account 5870 and 6970 which is what you're essentially compare in the real world.